Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2025
536. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of the projected €450 million allocated for the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme that has been spent to date; to provide a breakdown, by year, since 2022, and the projected spend in 2025; the number of contracts that have been entered into under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32716/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra537. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of completed apartments that have been delivered to date under the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32717/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra538. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the number of approved applications under the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme, and the number of apartments in each and the location of each approved scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32718/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra539. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the number of applications received under each call for expressions of interest in the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme; the number that were successful; and of those that were not successful, the number of units in total that those included, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32719/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra540. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications that have been received under the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme seeking support for apartment delivery in Limerick since the scheme began, covering the number of units in total, and the number of same that have been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32720/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra541. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications received under the croí cónaithe (cities) scheme seeking support for apartment delivery in Galway since the scheme began, covering the number of units in total, and the number of same that have been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32721/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra542. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications received under the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) scheme seeking support for apartment delivery in Waterford since the scheme began, covering the number of units in total, and the number of same that have been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32722/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541 and 542 together.
The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme supports the building of apartments in urban cores for sale to owner-occupiers. The Scheme aims to activate the supply of units which otherwise would not be delivered due to viability challenge by providing funding support to bridge the current "Viability Gap" between the delivery cost of building apartments and the market sale price (where the cost of building is greater).
Since the Scheme launched, three calls for Expression of Interest have been completed, with a fourth call, which was launched on 11 June 2025, currently underway. My Department has also recently made changes to the Scheme to further enhance it and encourage greater participation from private operators. These include extending the Scheme's eligible geographical area to include the metropolitan boundaries of our cities and also allowing smaller developments to apply for the Scheme, with the minimum eligibility threshold for units reduced from 40 to 20.
The application process is managed and administered by The Housing Agency on behalf of my Department and consists of a three stage appraisal process covering
1. Eligibility of proposals
2. Ranking of suitable proposals and
3. A detailed due diligence process leading to formal approval.
In total, 50 eligible applications have been received across the first three calls, 19 under Call One, 11 under Call Two and 20 applications under Call Three. For reasons of commercial sensitivity, details with regard specific proposals assessed are not released. However, I can confirm that to date, 10 developments, delivering 1,083 apartments have been approved. This represents a funding commitment of up to €132.6m. The Housing Agency continues to assess remaining applications under the previous calls which have the potential to deliver a further 1,600 units.
A breakdown of the 10 approved development is provided in the table below.
|
Scheme |
Local Authority Area |
No. of Units |
|
Dublin |
Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown |
53 |
|
Cork |
Cork City Council |
68 |
|
Cork |
Cork City Council |
274 |
|
Cork |
Cork City Council |
30 |
|
Dublin |
Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown |
157 |
|
Dublin |
Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown |
58 |
|
Dublin |
Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown |
230 |
|
Dublin |
Dublin City Council |
52 |
|
Dublin |
Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown |
78 |
|
Dublin |
Dublin City Council |
83 |
|
Total |
1,083 |
It should be noted that apartment developments typically take between 18 months and 2 years to complete and the first units completed with support from the scheme are presently on sale at Woodward Court, Glencairn Gate, Murphystown Way, Dublin 18 (53 units), Carr’s Hill, Castletreasure, Douglas in Cork (98 units) and Blackrock Villas, Blackrock in Cork (80 units).
In accordance with the terms and conditions of the Scheme, drawdown of approved funding occurs on completion of projects and following the sale of apartments to owner occupiers. A provision of €30m has been provided in 2025 in respect of this delivery.
